Saving Seafood

Washington crab fishermen challenge GPS vessel tracking in court

November 6, 2026 — Three Washington Dungeness crab fishermen are asking a state court to overturn a vessel monitoring program they say violates their constitutional rights by tracking their boats even when they are not fishing.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), representing crab boat captains Sarah Franey, Brent Young, and Mark Young, filed a motion seeking to invalidate the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Electronic Monitoring Program. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 15.

According to a Nov. 3 NCLA news release, the program requires GPS tracking of Dungeness crab vessels throughout the nine-month fishing season whenever their crab pots remain in the water, regardless of whether the vessels are being used for commercial fishing or personal activities.

The fishermen argue that the requirement allows the state to monitor their movements during recreational fishing trips, transportation, and sightseeing. They also contend that WDFW can share vessel location data with law enforcement and other agencies without obtaining a warrant.

At the center of the lawsuit, Franey et al. v. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, is whether the monitoring requirements violate constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

ASMFC 84th Annual Meeting Final Supplemental Materials Now Available

November 6, 2026 — The following was released Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Final supplemental materials for ASMFC’s 84TH Annual Meeting are now available athttps://asmfc.org/events/2026-annual-meeting/ for the following Management Boards.  Links can be found under Supplemental Materials for the Sciaenids and Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Boards, and Supplemental 2 Materials for the Atlantic Menhaden Board (following the respective Board’s agenda).

Sciaenids Management Board – Public Comment
Atlantic Menhaden Management Board – Public Comment
Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board – Tables Illustrating Differing For-hire Requirements Between States & Estimated Number of For-hire Participants by State for 2024 Fishing Year  
Webinar Information
The Law Enforcement Committee, Habitat Committee and Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership Steering Committee have unique webinar links that are available as part of the individual committee materials. 
 
Meeting proceedings for all other boards/committees will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, November 9 at 9:30 AM and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 1:15 PM) on Thursday, November 12. To register for the webinar, please go to:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4458443143765348954 (Webinar ID: 199-853-067)
 
If you are joining the webinar but will not be using voice over internet protocol (VoIP), you may also call in at +1 (213) 929-4212, access code 157-264-158. A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.
 
Each day, the webinar will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the first meeting so people can troubleshoot any connectivity or audio issues they may encounter. If you are having issues with the webinar (connecting to or audio related issues), please contact Chris Jacobs at 703.842.0790.

 

Meeting Process
Board chairs will ask both in-person and virtual board members if they wish to speak. In-person members can simply raise their hands at the meeting without logging on to the webinar, while virtual members will raise their hands on the webinar. The chair will work with staff to compile the list of speakers, balancing the flow of questions/comments between in-person and virtual attendees. The same process will be used for public comment. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
 
Public Comment Guidelines
To provide a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings: 
 
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunities to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will ask members of the public to raise their hands to let the chair know they would like to speak. Depending upon the number of commenters, the board chair will decide how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
 
For topics that are on the agenda that have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comments will not provide additional insight to the board.
 
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment, if any, to allow in these circumstances.

New NOAA Rule Helps Fishing Crews Reduce Whale Entanglements and Save Time

November 6, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region has finalized a new rule for the groundfish fishery that gives fishing crews new options to reduce the risk of whale entanglements. Fishermen say it will also help them save time and money hauling and buying line.

This rule now allows commercial fishing vessels to deploy strings of groundfish gear on the sea floor with just one line to a buoy at the surface. Previously each string required two buoy lines—one at each end. The Pacific Fishery Management Council sought the changes to reduce the number of vertical lines in the water. These lines can entangle whales and other marine life in fishing gear along the West Coast.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA seeks input on scallop permit stacking proposal

November 5, 2026 — NOAA Fisheries is considering changes to the Atlantic sea scallop fishery that would allow fishermen to combine two limited access permits on a single vessel, potentially reducing operating costs for businesses with multiple boats.

The proposal, under consideration by the Secretary of Commerce, would allow two limited access scallop permits in the same category, under common ownership or control, to be stacked on one vessel. That vessel could then fish the allocations associated with both permits, reducing expenses tied to maintaining multiple vessels with limited days-at-sea allocations.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Shark Finning Bans Aren’t Stopping Shark Mortality. Here’s Why.

November 5, 2026 — For decades, in some fisheries, the most valuable part of that animal was not its body… but its fins. A fisher would remove the fins, keep them and throw the rest of the shark back overboard in a practice known as “shark finning,” which is both wasteful and devastatingly painful for the animal on the receiving end of the blade. It did make economic sense in a grimly practical way, as fins took up far less space than whole sharks, leaving valuable room onboard for other species. But in a bid to end the cruel practice, global countries introduced regulations requiring sharks to be landed whole, with their fins naturally attached, attached to the carcass with ropes or wires, or landed according to prescribed fin-to-carcass ratios. On paper, this seems like a straightforward conservation solution. Stop finning, and you remove the incentive to kill sharks for their fins.

But what happens next? A new global analysis suggests the answer is not nearly as simple as we might hope.

Researchers examined shark trade across 188 countries between 2007 and 2020 using the Aquatic Resource Trade in Species, or ARTIS, database. Rather than looking only at whether countries had regulations, they asked if introducing shark-finning regulations actually changed how much shark product countries exported, imported or consumed. They then used a statistical approach called difference-in-differences, allowing them to compare countries before and after they introduced regulations with countries that had not yet introduced them. It is a useful way of getting closer to the question of causation rather than simply observing that two things happened at the same time. The headlining result is surprisingly undramatic: on average, finning regulations did not produce statistically significant changes in shark exports, imports or domestic consumption. Countries with regulations eventually exported about 351 metric tonnes less shark product per year than they might otherwise have been expected to export, while imports were about 142 tonnes higher. Domestic consumption was estimated to be lower by about 1,672 tonnes per year, but this effect was also not statistically significant.

Read the full article at Yahoo! News

MASSACHUSETTS: Select Board Grants Authority To Town Staff To Increase Commercial Scalloping Bushel Limit

November 5, 2026 — The Select Board voted unanimously on Wednesday to authorize town staff to increase the daily bushel limit for scallops. The move was made without any discussion at the Select Board level, but the Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board (HSAB) has discussed a possible increase several times in recent weeks.

During the most recent HSAB discussion on the subject, the general sentiment appeared to be that the conditions were favorable for an increase, but more information was needed from the scallopers and the fishery before a final decision could be made. That discussion was held on October 20th, and town staff may feel that things have changed in the intervening weeks.

“I’m cautious because I think that the majority of the scallops are, from what I’ve seen, in two or three places, and I’d like to see what’s in some of these other places in terms of abundance,” HSAB and Select Board member Bob DeCosta said.

Read the full article at Nantucket Current

Crabbers again ask Washington Superior Court to shut down 24/7 monitoring of vessels

November 4, 2026 — Representing Dungeness crab fishers, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) has asked the Superior Court of the State of Washington to immediately rule against the state government and shut down its 24/7 electronic monitoring program.

“There is no ‘fishing’ exception to illegal 24-hour surveillance regimes under the state and federal constitutions, and we hope that regime ends soon,” NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel John Vecchione said in a release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Fishing proposals would reshape access around Homer Spit waters

November 3, 2026 — Commercial fishing could be prohibited as far as a mile from the Homer Spit under a series of proposals headed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries in December, while charter boats could be barred from fishing derbies.

The proposed changes are among 50 regulatory measures scheduled for consideration during the board’s Lower Cook Inlet meeting Dec. 1-4 in Seward. They address longstanding disputes over fishing access near Homer Small Boat Harbor and raise new questions about how charter businesses should participate in fishing competitions and report their activities.

Three proposals target commercial fishing near the Spit, with supporters citing concerns about nets interfering with recreational boats and other harbor traffic, while two others would impose restrictions on charter vessels, potentially affecting local tournaments and requiring monitoring equipment or onboard observers.

Read the full article at Homer News

Announcing Scoping for Potential Permit Stacking in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

November 3, 2026 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Comment Period open through January 4, 2027

NOAA is committed to addressing the recent decline in fisheries landings and revenue, boosting sustainable aquaculture, reducing the seafood trade deficit, and strengthening supply chain resilience. After considering input from regional fishery management councils, the fishing industry, and the public, NOAA Fisheries sent Regional Priorities guidance in July 2026, providing the councils a clear roadmap of actions to support the goals of the Executive Order on Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness. To complement that guidance, NOAA Fisheries applied the same standard of accountability and results to its own work and announced agency-level actions in support of the EO.

Based on comments received in response to Executive Order 14276, the Secretary of Commerce is considering whether to develop an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan to allow permit stacking in the limited access scallop fishery. This is an important step in fulfilling the EO’s mandate to reduce burdens on domestic fishing and enhance economic profitability. The Secretary is considering addressing excess capacity in the limited access scallop fishery by allowing two Limited Access scallop permits within the same category and under common ownership or control  to be combined on a single vessel. The vessel would be permitted to fish the allocations for both permits, which would reduce business expenses associated with maintaining multiple vessels with low days-at-sea allocations.

NOAA Fisheries will hold five public hearings in November and December 2026 to solicit public comment on this potential Secretarial amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The public hearing schedule is as follows:

Boston, Massachusetts

November 17 *4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, 100 Boardman St., Boston, MA 02128

(*Note: The time of this Scoping Meeting is approximate and will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Joint Scallop Committee and Advisory Panel Meeting)

Please register here.

Webinar

November 23, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Join the webinar here. 

Please register here.

Barnegat, New Jersey

December 3, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Barnegat Light Volunteer Fire Department, 907 Central Ave, Barnegat Light, NJ 08006

Please register here.

Webinar

December 7, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Join the webinar here. 

Please register here.

New Bedford, Massachusetts

December 14, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology East
836 South Rodney French Blvd., New Bedford, MA 02744

Please register here. 

NOAA Fisheries is also soliciting written scoping comments on this topic through January 4, 2027.

To access the scoping document and meeting details, please visit the scallop stacking page. 

Maine commercial fishing regulators are working on a string of closures to scalloping grounds

March 16, 2016 (AP) — MACHIAS, Maine — Maine commercial fishing regulators are working on a string of closures to scalloping grounds around the state as the season nears its end.

A spokesman for the state Department of Marine Resources says the agency is working on an emergency action that would close areas such as the Inner Machias Rotational Area, Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Gouldsboro Bay and Dyers Bay.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Daily Journal